Who can be your subject?

If that is your first question, then STOP! Anyone and anything can be a subject (it is rather…subjective). It really depends on what you are trying to convey (more on that later) and your subject doesn’t necessarily have to be human. Here are a few examples:

People

This can be a portrait, which is a close-up shot of the face. There’s a focus on emotion or a part of the face. People here can also mean non-humans like animals, birds, trees, etc. These types of subjects are great for projects that involve a biography of a person, It can also be an animal (or group of animals) or flora (trees, algae). For example, “the impact of decidious trees on the town of ImaginaryFace.”

Place

The location or environment could be the subject of your photo. This is useful for projects that involve making videos about a place. For example, “a video on the tourist impact within an  island nation.”

Process

The photo is focusing on some sort of action – this could be a meeting, a protest or demonstration, something occuring in the environment (such as tidal waves or effects of wind), or a person performing an action (a potter making pots). The process of the action is your focal point

The correct question is  – how to pick your subject?

Consider the feeling you want your picture to evoke – what do you want your viewer to see and feel? Where are you trying to focus their attention? What information do you want them to take away from the picture?

Also important to consider is your scene background

Backgrounds can either complement or distract from your subject, so be mindful how the background frames your subject. The human eye might miss a background detail, but the camera captures everything.

Tips and techniques for picking your subject

• Natural lighting is best for portraits (close-up of the face), especially on cloudy/overcast days

• Avoid cropping if you can, but if you have to – crop parts below the person’s joints. For example, crop below the hips rather than right above the knee, or crop near the middle of the tree trunk rather than the branches or top of the trunk.
• Genuine emotion is best! You can talk to the person you’re photographing. Also, eyes are very powerful ways to depict emotion – focusing on them can make for an interesting photo. They also make the most direct connection to the viewer.

• Try to avoid objects like poles connecting to your subject’s head. Also, in non-human subjects, try to keep your subject from blending into the background due to natural camouflage. This could mean blurring the background or choosing a background with more contrast (the latter might be difficult if the filming is happening in the natural habitat of the subject).

• The camera angle creates symmetry and patterns in the environment. Try imagining perspective lines through your viewfinder.

• Golden hours – the time right before the sun sets. This can create really nice, colorful lighting in your photos. Using silhouettes can make for aesthetically pleasing photos. However, if you want to capture the most details in an environment, photograph midday. This reduces the shadows in the picture.
  

Process

• Sometimes you need to put the camera in burst mode and take photos without deliberate setup to capture time-sensitive processes/actions. In such cases, finer elements like light exposure or timing might not be relevant.

•  Do not be afraid to get up close. These can make for great pictures for reports and presentations. If you know something cool is going to happen (such as a fountain or a geyser erupting), set up beforehand so you get the perfect angle and lighting.

Wide, Medium, Tight, Tight, Tight

For every wide shot you take, take a medium shot and three tight shots. This gives you options later! It is a good rule of thumb to follow throughout your photography, especially when taking pictures of processes/actions